That is a hard question to answer in an unbiased way. One person might believe that liberalism is a freer society that is safer and better. But, someone else might believe that democracy is a freer society that is safer and better. Since this is an opinion-based question, I would suggest looking into the different ideologies and forming your own opinion.
Salutary Neglect was when Britain left the colonies alone from 1714-1763 after the Glorious Revolution where William and Mary came to power in England. Hope this helps! Have a great day!
He was in conflict because they believed that since he was a southern president, he would try to obstruct the restoration and work against the goals of the federation.